Long Ignored Abstract Murals Draw Applause At Hartford Library

Until recently, the mostly ignored and under appreciated murals by Harlem Renaissance artist Romare Bearden hung at the XL Center in Hartford. Newly rediscovered, the murals, appraised for $4.2 million, are being moved from the XL Center to be cleaned and then installed at the Hartford Public Library. (Michael McAndrews, Cloe Poisson, Kenneth R. Gosselin)

So it wasn't the heft of the two Romare Bearden murals — the larger, 10 feet by 16 feet and over 500 pounds — that presented the biggest challenge Friday morning installing the artwork downtown at the Hartford Public Library.

It was not tearing the artist's canvas.

"It's so delicate, you can't grab onto it the way you want to, like you would a bronze sculpture," Montesi said.

The murals by the Harlem Renaissance artist were recently found to be especially precious cargo. As part of a relocation from the XL Center, the paintings were appraised at a combined $4.2 million, surprising most who had no idea of their value or even the importance of Bearden's work. The works were commissioned by the city in 1980 for $100,000.

CAPTION

Two valuable abstract murals -- displayed in relative obscurity for nearly three decades at the XL Center -- are getting a new home this morning at the Hartford Public Library.

Two valuable abstract murals -- displayed in relative obscurity for nearly three decades at the XL Center -- are getting a new home this morning at the Hartford Public Library.

CAPTION

Two valuable abstract murals -- displayed in relative obscurity for nearly three decades at the XL Center -- are getting a new home this morning at the Hartford Public Library.

Two valuable abstract murals -- displayed in relative obscurity for nearly three decades at the XL Center -- are getting a new home this morning at the Hartford Public Library.

In the past two months, the murals were taken down at the XL; cleaned and resealed; and stored briefly in Mariano's warehouse in Bethel. All the costs tied to the move, including the appraisal, came to $68,000, according to the Capital Region Development Authority, which is paying the bill.

Bearden's works were too large to fit through any door in the library, so a bank of windows was removed on the Arch Street side of the building. Before sun-up Friday, the crated murals arrived on a flatbed truck. At 6 a.m., in the road under street lights, Mariano's workers built a wooden platform attached to a crane that would later hoist both paintings through the newly-created opening in the wall.

As the first mural — the sports-themed "Olympics" — was lifted from its crate and gently swung to the platform, there were a few gasps among the small group gathered on the sidewalk.

Spaces in the library's atrium and North Reading Room had been readied for the installation. Walls were equipped with a system of wooden "cleats" fashioned out of two-by-sixes. Those cleats corresponded to those attached to the back of each mural.

Once slipped through the opening, the murals were rolled on dollies with custom-made, wooden towers so they would clear seating areas and other obstacles.

The second mural, the larger, "Untitled," which represents the arts — took the longest to hang, a little over an hour, in the atrium. With the aid of two crank lifts and workers on ladders steadying the ascent every inch of the way, the mural slowly rose. Once the artwork was in place, there was a pause. Workers looked and someone among the crowd of a two dozen or so onlookers asked if it was time to clap.

The library, closed for the installation, echoed with applause.

Five hours after it began, workers wrapped up, ending a journey for the murals that had begun with the decision not to include them in the $35 million renovation of the XL Center.

Carlos Hernández Chávez, who served on the city board that first commissioned the murals, said the move from the XL will increase the visibility of the pieces — and better fulfill the intent that they be public art. To see them, at the former Hartford Civic Center, now the XL, a ticket was required — and even then, they were barely noticed.

"To this day, a lot of people don't know who Romare Bearden was," Hernández Chávez said. "This is going to be a huge educational piece for all of us."

The move to the library may be only temporary, although it will clearly be a long-term stay, at the least. It is unclear whether the city, which originally commissioned the murals, or the CRDA, which has a lease on the XL Center, should control if the murals destiny. CRDA has said the murals should return to a new or redeveloped sports arena in the city — clearly, years away — because the painting were originally commissioned for the Hartford Civic Center. The city has said it isn't so sure about that.

Matthew K. Poland, the library's chief executive, said the murals are a welcome addition to the library, which is trying to increase its collections of art work. Recently, it added four sculptures by the internationally-known Hartford sculptor Elbert Weinberg.

"Sculpture, the arts, books and CDs are what literacy is all about," Poland said. "Because the murals are so large, they are going to make a dominant impression in the library, hard to miss."

Poland said the murals are mounted high enough so they can't be touched by patrons — and the building's security systems will more than adequately protect the valuable artworks.

"With something of that weight and size," Poland said, "they are not getting them out of the building, without removing a window."

A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled the name of Hartford sculptor Elbert Weinberg.